Soap Opera
by TigerButterflied
Summary: Greg gets by with a little help from his friends.
1. Chapter 1

Soap Opera

The characters are not mine, and I make no money from them.

This is something a little different, a little 'what-if', maybe alternative universe in a sense. It's set early second season, before Greg gets up the nerve to ask Sara out, right before she meets Hank. Anyhow, here goes...

"You're like a dog chasing a car, man. You want her, but you wouldn't know what to do with her if you got her." Nick sat on the DNA lab counter watching Greg Sanders watch Sara Sidle. The boy was absolutely smitten with her, like Pepi La Pew on the trail of his kitty ladylove. His awkward adoration was geekily sweet, but unlikely to inspire the same in Miss Sidle, who weirdly enough seemed to have fallen madly in love with Gil Grissom. Grissom in turn was completely unmoved by Sara's affections, not terribly surprising since she was young enough to be his daughter. No, Grissom's heart belonged to Catherine Willows, who either didn't know or wasn't interested, her eyes having long been focused on one Warrick Brown. Warrick played the field himself, never finding any one woman to be enough. It really was like a soap opera, one he was thankful to be observing rather than participating in.

Greg's eyebrows lifted. "Trust me, if I won the heart of our fair Miss Sidle I most certainly WOULD know what to do. You see, the kid has a plan."

"And this plan is?..." Nick grinned. This was getting interesting.

"Never you mind. Just know that if we get together, no, make that WHEN we get together, I will treat her like a princess."

"Like a princess."

"Yes, Nick, like a princess." He smiled and pushed some buttons on one of his machines. "I will spoil her rotten - cook for her, give her backrubs, make sure that every day she knows just how wonderful she is, just how much I love her."

"Just how much you love her. Um, dude, don't you think maybe you've gotten just a little carried away with this ?"

Greg said nothing, just turned back to push more buttons on the machine. At the same time, Nick's pager beeped. "Catch ya later, man..."

Nick Stokes was a good man, but he couldn't keep a secret worth a crap. In truth he was a compulsive gossip - never malicious, but a gossip nevertheless. That was why, several hours later, he and Catherine Willows could be found discussing his earlier conversation with Greg. "He's in love with her, Catherine. I was thinking he just wanted to get into her pants, but he's in love with the woman." He shook his head. "It's kind of sad. There SHE is throwing herself at Grissom, making a damned fool of herself, and poor Greg's in love with her."

Catherine smiled slightly. "Sara's driving Gil crazy. He doesn't want to hurt her feelings, but she's not his type. Griss has a kind heart, but it just isn't there."

"Yeah. That's pretty obvious."

Catherine frowned. "I will say, though, when it comes to Greg I don't think she's completely disinterested."

Nick frowned. "You're kidding."

"No, I mean watch when she's in there with him. The body language is definitely NOT 'get away from me.' He flirts with her, and sometimes she flirts back. With the right care, this flower could open up and bloom."

Nick was laughing. "With Greg? You just say that because he's like your kid now. He's - man, he's way younger than her. He's, what, twenty-two?"

"Greg's older than you think he is. He just turned twenty-six, and she's your age. You date women younger than he is, and don't even try to tell me that it's different, because it isn't."

"I'll grant you he's closer to her age than Grissom is."

"And a lot more able to give her what she needs. Sara is hypersensitive -"

"I would've said touchy."

" - same thing; she's vulnerable, but at the same time moody and emotional. Greg's laid back enough to take it all in stride. Grissom can't even handle a NORMAL amount of emotion; he'd run screaming into the sunset if he had to deal with the Sidle rollercoaster."

"Okay, point taken. Sara and Greg are a better match than Sara and Grissom - but what can we do about it?"

Catherine grinned. "Just you watch and see, Nicky, my boy. Mama has a plan."


	2. Chapter 2

Soap Opera Chapter 2

Characters aren't mine. Never made any money from them.

Here's chapter 2. A crazy conversation on the Sandles group reminded me of the charms of second-season Greg, so very young and sweet, so this entire saga is really the fault of my friends and cronies over there. Always blame others, that's the key.

"Catherine!" Greg's features brightened into a full-blown grin. "What do you have for me?"

Catherine smiled at his puppyish exuberance. It was impossible to not love Greg. "Only a visit this time. Grissom has me doing paperwork."

"Ah. Joy."

"Yeah. But at least maybe I'll get off on time for once." She paused. "So, Greg, you seeing anyone right now?"

"No. No, I'm, ah, unattached at the moment. Why? You interested?" He gave her an exaggerated leer.

"No, just curious."

"There IS this one woman I'm interested in..."

"Oh?" Catherine smiled. He'd taken the bait, just like she'd known he would. Now she just had to reel him in.

"Yeah. You, um, you know her." He paused, and glanced nervously at her. He was afraid she'd laugh. "It's Sara. Sara Sidle."

"Mmm-hmmm." Catherine paused thoughtfully. "Have you asked her out yet?"

He glanced over with a smile. "No. Do you think she'd go out with me?" His expression was hopeful.

Catherine smiled. "If you play your cards right, without a doubt..."

"Catherine!" Gil Grissom's eyes brightened as she entered his office.

"Hello, Gil. I need advice. I was hoping to talk to you about something."

"You know you can always talk to me. What's on your mind?"

"There's this woman on days, and she's got it bad for one of the lab guys. He knows it, isn't interested, but doesn't want to hurt her feelings. Problem is, it's gotten ridiculous. It's causing problems with their work, she's making a complete fool of herself, that sort of thing."

"Poor guy."

"Yeah, well. He isn't interested, but he keeps encouraging her here and there - maybe not deliberately, maybe because it bothers him to see her so sad, who knows; the point is, these little nuggets are giving her enough false hope she's not likely to ever give up. What should he do?"

"He should be man enough to tell her the truth as strongly as he has to, then make a point of keeping his distance. It's ultimately hurting her worse to keep feeding her hopes. If he lets her know where she stands, then maybe she can go on to find someone who does care for her."

Catherine smiled sadly. "I agree. I lied about the dayshift part, Gil. You're the man, and we both know what you have to do."

Grissom sighed. "Yeah. We do. I've been hoping she'd lose interest, but it isn't happening."

"Nope, and until you bite the bullet and let her know in no uncertain terms you don't want to be with her, you don't feel that way about her, and you're never going to feel that way about her she's not going to lose interest."

He sighed. "Ill do it today, as soon as shift is over."

Catherine nodded and patted his arm. "Good idea. And Gil? You're doing the right thing."

"Mmmm. Hey, Catherine?"

"Yeah, Gil?"

"Would you like to have dinner with me? You and Lindsey, of course."

She smiled back at him. "I'd like that, Gil. I really would."

Later, Sara and Catherine sat in the breakroom eating. "This veggie and cheese sandwich is actually decent," mused Sara, inspecting her sandwich. "Their food has gotten better."

"Which is good. It NEEDED to get better."

"Yeah."

"Greg was nice to do the supper run tonight." Catherine took a bite of her pickle "He's a real sweetheart."

Sara nodded. "Yeah, he is nice. Crazy hair, but it looks good on him."

"Yeah. He carries off a style nobody else could. Brilliant mind, too. You know he has an IQ of 173? Graduated from college at 20, been a tech six years now."

"Greg's 26?" Sara looked surprised. "I thought 22, 23."

"Nope. He's 26."

"Wow." She took another bite of her sandwich. "I'm only six years older than he is." Her brows furrowed in thought. Mission accomplished.

Nick was sitting on the hood of his Denali when Catherine left at the building. "So, Mama. What have you been up to?"

She smiled sharkishly. "All kinds of things, Nicky my boy. All kinds of things."

"As in..."

"As in, you have to till the soil before you plant. Things are looking up, though. They are definitely looking up."


	3. Chapter 3

Soap Opera Ch. 3

I don't own the characters; ain't made no money off 'em. On to the story.

The next time Catherine and Nick saw Sara she was NOT a happy woman - in fact, she looked very much like she was going to cry. "Quiet night tonight, or so I've heard." Nick was munching on a bag of Doritos; he passed the bag to Sara, who silently took afew.

"Now if it would just stay that way." Catherine was sipping on hot chocolate; she'd made herself a cup before leaving for work.

"What time is it?" Sara swiped a few more chips as she spoke.

"Fifteen til."

Greg bounded in and flopped down next to Sara. "Hello." He addressed this to her.

"Hi." She studied his T-shirt and actually smiled just a tiny bit. " 'Here I am. What were your other wishes?' I like that."

He grinned broadly. "Why thank you."

Catherine and Nick exchanged a long look. "My next wish is that the people of Las Vegas would refrain from killing one another this evening. That would make me very happy." Nick shoved the Doritos toward Greg. "Dig in, Greggo. We got no cases, you got nothin' to analyze."

"Hello, Gil!" Catherine flashed a smile at Grissom, who was in the process of seating himself at the table.

"Hello, Catherine. Hello, everyone." He opened his notebook and raised his eyebrows. "We appear to be without any new cases tonight, though the night is young and that likely will not remain true for the entire shift. In the meanwhile, Mr. Sanders here has the very important task of going to the Krispy Kreme to get us donuts - my treat. Sara, you ride along; I don't want him getting lost. I am going to be in my office doing a little research. Catherine, until you get a case you're helping me."

"Where's Warrick?"

"He's running a little late. When he called I told him not to push it; there's no point in getting a speeding ticket to get to work to sit in the breakroom making paper airplanes."

"Ride along, my ass. I'm driving!"

Greg was too happy to argue, so he placidly climbed into her car. "We need to get three dozen. Eighteen glazed, we pick the rest."

"Chocolate dipped. We HAVE to get chocolate dipped."

"And jelly. We need to get jelly, too."

"And custard."

"Yeah. And sprinkles." Greg sighed. "I love donuts."

"We're all going to be floating around on a sugar high."

"I just hope Grissom isn't doing this because he's going to make us all donate again tonight. Last time he got food I got to give him a pint. He did say he was doing experiments."

"Yeah. But for Krispy Kreme, it's almost worth it."

Greg laughed. "I can't argue with that."

"And they have a drive through now." Sara pulled up to the window. "I need eighteen glazed, six chocolate dipped, six jelly, three custard. and three sprinkles."

"That'll be $22.28. please."

Sara handed her the money. A few minutes later, Greg's lap full of fragrant boxes, she pulled on out.

"Yeah, I have a feeling somebody's going to get tapped tonight." Greg chuckled. "And I'll probably be at the top of the list."

Greg was making coffee for everyone when Warrick walked in. "I am late, late, late."

"At least you picked the right night. We still don't have any cases. Grissom sent Greg and me on a donut run first thing."

"Sounds like he's having another blood drive." Warrick picked out a glazed donut and took a bite. "He isn't feeding us out of the goodness of his heart."

"Yes, and since you were late you're first." Grissom stood in the doorway. "My office, Warrick. You can bring your donut with you."

Warrick sighed and followed behind Grissom.

"Ha! I told you so." Greg smirked triumphantly.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but notice he told Warrick he was first. That means he's out for more than one unit."

"Hey, as long as he's not asking for rectal swabs or semen samples I'm okay with it." He handed her a cup. "Here. This is the good stuff."

She smiled. "You always give me your special coffee. I feel special."

Greg blushed and looked down. "You ARE special."

"I'm glad somebody thinks so." She sighed.

Grissom's curly head appeared again at the door. "Oh Greggo. You're next."

"Be back in a few."

"I can't believe that shift is half over and we still don't have any cases." Nick was munching on his fourth donut.

"I can't believe Grissom made all of us donate." Warrick opened his newspaper as he spoke. "What in the hell does he need that much blood for?"

"You probably don't want to know." Sara was painting her toenails.

"I like that shade, and you're right, sometimes it's better not to know." Catherine was sipping at her fourth cup of coffee.

"At least we got donuts. Sometimes he takes your blood and tries to feed you bugs." Greg was making an origami crane out of a Bacardi ad from one of his magazines. He made the last fold, then handed it to Sara with a smile. "For you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"This is boring." Nick pushed the box of donuts away.

"Take a nap."

"I can't sleep in here."

"Clean out your locker."

"My locker STAYS clean. Clean out YOUR locker, Greg."

"I'm not bored."

"But your locker needs cleaning."

"So? It's not hurting anything."

Grissom appeared at the door. "I need urine. Who has to pee?"


	4. Chapter 4

Soap Opera 4

Not mine; no money made. Short chapter this time.

Nick was shaking his head as he edged over to Greg. "Man, I reallydo think Grissom's lost it. He's asking for semen now."

Greg looked up, alarmed. "What did you tell him? Did you do it?"

"No, I didn't do it. He didn't ask me, he asked Warrick. Warrick told me, so I'm hiding. Oh, crap. Here he comes."

"Greg! Nick! Just the guys I was looking for." With a flourish he handed each of them a specimen cup. "Need semen samples."

Nick thrust the cup back at Grissom. "No way. I'll give you blood, I'll give you pee, but you ain't gettin' that."

Greg shook his head. "Sorry, boss, but I can't do that."

Grissom's jaw took on a stubborn set. "I wasn't asking, guys. I'myour boss, and that was an order."

"Why can't you make your own sample?" Nick's voice had become a whine.

"I did, but I need more than I can provide alone. Do it for science." He strode off with a smile.

Greg shook his head. "This raises humiliation to a whole new level."

Nick grinned over at him. "Quit whining. If I have to do it, YOU have to do it."

"Maybe it's a Frankenstein thing. Maybe he's gonna use us to inseminate his tarantula. The babies will have 8 furry legs, fangs, and YOUR eyes..." He imitated a spider with his hand "DaddyDaddy! Oooooo, Daddy..."

"Shut up, Greg."

An hour later, Greg and Sara sat alone in the breakroom. Catherine was working with Grissom, and Nick and Warrick were now hiding from Grissom. "I really do think he's lost his mind," mused Greg,jiggling his coffee cup to create waves in the dark liquid.

Sara grinned. "Nick told me about your, ah, special donations. That must have been embarassing."

"Be glad you're a girl. Of course, he may be wanting to give you and Catherine pap smears before the end of shift. The guy seems not to have heard of boundaries."

"Yeah, well, I hope he's not planning on adding spinal taps and bone marrow aspirations to his list of required donations this evening."

Greg shuddered. "And here I was thinking it couldn't get any worse. Thanks, Sara; that really makes me feel better."

She grinned. "No problem. Now go get the cards. I wanna play gin rummy."

"Yes ma'am."

"I do love an obedient man."

"So, care to place a little wager?" Greg shuffled as he spoke.

"What kind of wager?"

He shrugged casually. "I don't know, maybe if I win you'll go out with me..."

She smirked. "Suppose I win. What do I get then?"

"All the Blue Hawaain you can drink for the next six months."

"You're going DOWN, coffee boy. Your coffee-related servitude shall be mine."

"So where are you taking me?"

Greg was smiling like a man who'd won the lottery. "Someplace VERY nice. Wear something fancy."

"So when are we doing this?"

"I was looking at the schedule earlier and I couldn't help but notice that we're both off on Wednsday. How does that sound?"

"That works."

"I'll pick you up at six, then. And Sara, prepare to be pampered like a princess.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5 Soap Opera

Never mine; no money involved.

The Date

Sara was putting on her earrings when she heard a knock at her front door. She checked her watch - he was five minutes early. A tiny frisson of excitement passed through her- odd, really, since this was just Greg, after all. Funny, puppy-friendly Greg, who trailed around after her like a lovelorn calf. She wasn't interested in him; he was just, well, Greg. And anyhow, she was still heartbroken over being rejected by Grissom, wasn't she? Wasn't she? She frowned as she took the door handle. Truth was, she hadn't really been thinking about Grissom much the past couple of days. Her mind was too busy thinking about her upcoming date. With Greg. Whom of course she wasn't interested in.

Greg was wickedly handsome in all black - black suit, black shirt, black socks, black shoes, red and blue Marvin the Martian tie. Well, almost all black. His hair was behaving itself fairly well, for GregHair, and he was grinning from ear to ear as he handed her a bouquet of blood-red roses. "For you," he said with a bow, then stepped in.

"They're beautiful. Thank you," she said softly. "Have a seat," she said from the kitchen as she pulled out a vase and filled it with water. "You really shouldn't have. "

"I wanted to. I'm glad you like them."

"So where are we going?"

"A little place called Casablanca. It's eclectic, mainly Moroccan. I checked it out; it's really a cool place. Very vegetarian-friendly." And very romantic, but he wasn't going to tell her that. She'd figure it out soon enough.

"This place is wonderful." Sara looked around. The lighting was subdued, coming mostly from candles and Moroccan lanterns. The decor was middle eastern, and the low-slung tables were paired with overstuffed pillows, not chairs.

"Yeah. I discovered it while I was out and about one day. The food is really good, too."

Sara smiled mischievously. "Is this where you usually bring your dates?"

"Only you, Sara. Only you." He reached out for her hand, tracing shapes on the palm - hearts, maybe?- as he spoke. "You're special," he whispered, then looked down, suddenly fascinated with her hand.

Her heart skipped a beat. It had been a long time since she'd been out with a man who saw her as anything more than just another fairly attractive woman - perhaps desirable, but easily replaced with another fairly attractive woman.

"I'm glad you think so," she said softly.

"I'm glad you agreed to go out with me. Even if you are just here to settle a bet." He was still playing with her hand, and it was sending little tingles down her spine.

"I'm sort of glad now I lost that bet."

He smiled broadly. "I hope you're having a nice time."

"I am. I feel like Cinderella at the dance."

"Don't worry. My VW isn't going to turn into a pumpkin or anything. Although at midnight tomorrow I myself will change back into a lab rat."

She laughed. "So does this mean Catherine is my wicked stepmother?"

"Nah, that'd be Ecklie. "

"StepMommie definitely needs a hair transplant then."

"And they took your shoes. How shall I ever find you?"

She shrugged. "We cheated. You know where I live."

"So." He sighed nervously. "Do you think you might ever want to, you know, maybe go out again? With me, I mean. Like maybe next Tuesday, when we're both off again."

She smiled. "Yeah, I think I'd like that. I'm really enjoying this."

He stood with her in front of her door. "So." He stepped closer.

"I had a great time tonight."

"So did I. I, um, I was wondering if I could... could kiss you."

Sara smiled. No one had ever asked her for a kiss before."Yes, Greg. You can kiss me."

His lips were soft and tentative on hers, the kiss slow but chaste. When he pulled away he was grinning broadly. "I'll see you tomorrow night, then."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there. Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you..."


	6. Chapter 6

Soap Opera Ch 6

Not mine; no money involved. This is perhaps a light PG13.

"And she agreed to go out with me again next Tuesday!"

Greg was so excited he could pass for manic, thought Catherine as he excitedly related the details of his date with Sara.

"Did you try to kiss her?"

"I did. I asked first, and she said I could. It was -" He smiled as he searched for an adjective "-etherial."

"Quick peck?"

"No. Sort of slow, I wasn't aggressive about it, but it was a nice , long, very sweet kiss. She was kissing me back, too."

"Who pulled back first?"

"I did. It went on long enough I was afraid she'd suffocate if I didn't."

Catherine smiled. "Good idea. Rendering a woman hypoxic never makes a good impression."

"So what do you think?"

Catherine nodded. "Sounds like you're coming along nicely. Now you need to plan out the second date."

"I'd LIKE to be planning our wedding."

Catherine chuckled. "You VERY much need to make sure she doesn't know that, not until she's totally under your spell. Now let's talk about that second date strategy again..."

"You're mighty cheerful tonight." Nick took the wrench from Sara's outstretched hand. "Good day off?"

"Oh, yeah. GREAT day off." She was grinning broadly.

"Get plenty of sleep?"

"Yup."

"Get laid?"

"NICK!"

"Me neither." Nick smiled to himself. She was humming the theme from "Casablanca."

"I'm telling you, I don't understand it. Grissom basically told her to get lost less than a week ago, and now she's walking around grinning like a cat eating yellowjackets, humming love songs. One date with Greg did that?"

"It would appear. Don't act so surprised, Nick. Mama's plans are good plans. I wasn't expecting it things to move along quite this well, and definitely not this quickly, but evidently she liked him more than we thought - and was considerably less into Grissom than she appeared to be."

Nick sighed. "I guess. But this is Greggo we're talking about here. His head looks like Sonic the Hedgehog."

"And he's kind, and he's sweet, and he treats her like gold. And he IS attractive; trust me on that. If I were ten years younger I might be all over him myself."

"Hi, Greg!" Greg had been raptly looking over a report when Sara had slipped into the lab; the report fluttered to the floor as he turned to smile over at her.

"Sara! Hi! What are... what are you up to tonight?"

"Oh, you know, just processing evidence from a case. I had a minute, thought I'd drop by and say hi. Hi!"

"Hi! Um, you look nice tonight, not that you don't usually look nice, it's just that tonight you look ESPECIALLY nice."

"Thanks. You look nice too."

He grinned. "Thanks. I, um, would you like to take break together?"

"Yeah, that'd be good. What time?"

"Um, like in about an hour, if that works for you?"

"Yeah, that's good. I gotta go. Meet you in the breakroom in an hour?"

"Okay."

"Bye..."

"Taylor's Cafe alright?" Greg strapped in and turned to look at Sara.

"Yeah, I like Taylor's."

"Me too. They're close, too."

"So."

"So. Night going well?"

"Yeah, we're making progress. Found some tool marks that match a wrench belonging to our main suspects, and it's covered with his prints, so I think we'll get a warrant without a problem."

"That's great!"

"Thanks for taking me out for break."

"Thank YOU for coming." He smiled over at her. "I enjoy spending time together."

"Yeah, me too."

"Here we are." He turned off the car and hurriedly unfastened his seatbelt. "Sara. Um, wait a second."

"What, Greg?"

"I want to... that is, can I kiss you again?"

She smiled slightly. "You don't have to keep asking; I mean it's sweet, but you can kiss me without prior arrangements."

"I'll have to remember that." He pulled her into his arms and slowly, gently touched his lips to hers.

Sara parted her lips under his and he eagerly deepened the kiss. Her blood turned to molten lava as the kiss went from a tentative exploration to a passionate claiming of territory. Never, ever would she have expected this - she was shaking in Greg's arms by the time he finally, reluctantly drew back. "Whoah," she whispered hoarsely. "That was..."

"Yeah, it was." He was panting. "I'd ask to do it again, but we're in a public parking lot."

"Yeah. It'd be best to go on in and eat." She didn't sound convinced, he thought with a smile.

"Yeah, you're probably right..."


	7. Chapter 7

Soap Opera Ch 7

Not mine. No money made.

It seemed to Greg like several years passed between his glorious encounter with Sara in the Taylor's parking lot and their Tuesday date. In fact it was only four days, but since she'd had a red-hot case the next two nights and he'd been up to his neck in DNA on the third night he'd seen very little of her at work. Still, Tuesday finally arrived, and he found himself pulling up in front of her apartment yet again.

He took a deep breath before knocking on her door. He held the box of Godiva chocolates he'd gotten her behind his back as he waited for her to answer the door. His heart was pounding.

"Sara!" He stepped into her apartment with a grin. "You look beautiful." He awkwardly handed her the big box of candy. "I, um, hope you like chocolate."

"Aaahhh! Godiva's my favorite! Thank you!" She kissed him on the cheek and smiled when he blushed vividly. "This was so sweet of you."

He grinned and looked at his shoes. "I'm, um, glad you like it. You 'bout ready?"

"Yeah." She grabbed her purse. "Let's go."

"So where are we going?"

He grinned. "I thought we'd try Antonio's this time."

"That sounds great, but Greg, you're spending way too much on me."

"No more than you deserve."

She beamed. "I feel bad, though. Next time, I cook for you."

Next time. Her apartment. Greg smiled at the thought. "That sounds wonderful. I can bring a movie for us if you like."

Sara nodded. "Sounds good."

Antonio's proved to be a small, intimate Italian restaurant with two rows of well-separated booths, one on either side of the narrow dining room. Each table sorted several candles, and these comprised all of the room's lights. Sara looked around the room. "Now THIS is romantic."

Greg took her hand across the table. "The food is great, too. They have the best eggplant parmesan in Vegas."

"I'm really enjoying this."

"Antonio's?"

"No. Us going out together."

"Oh. THAT this." He smiled and kissed her hand. "I am too. You're, well, you're an amazing woman."

"You're not half-bad yourself, Greg Sanders."

The food was excellent, and Greg had her laughing throughout the meal. Too soon the dishes were gone and the ticket deposited on the table, and he was again standing with her in front of her door. "So." She shifted nervously. "I had a wonderful time."

He sighed. "Me too. The evening passed too quickly, though."

"Yeah. Listen, it's still pretty early, would you like to come in? For coffee, I

mean. Just if you want."

"I, ah, yeah. That'd be, that'd be good."

Greg sat gingerly on the sofa as she started the coffee. "It's not top of the line; hope that's okay."

"That's fine." Note to self: buy Sara some decent coffee, he thought with a smile. He had great hopes he'd eventually be waking up to her coffee on a regular basis.

She flopped down next to him and handed him the remote. "Help yourself. I have cable."

Greg turned on the television and flipped to Forensic Files. "Here we go. Now that's quality programming."

Sara snorted. "You're as bad as me."

He slipped his arm around her. "I take that as a compliment, Miss Sidle, I truly do." He pulled her closer, his gaze dropping to her lips. "I would really, really like to kiss you right now." She didn't move away, so he slid his lips across hers and gently pressed into a kiss. He slipped his tongue across the seam of her mouth, begging entry, slipping in when it was granted. The kiss deepened into fiery exploration, and he felt her hands move to the back of his head, pulling him further into it. His heart was pounding like a racer's, his body responding wildly to the passion washing over them, and this time they weren't in a car in front of a restaurant. No outside force was going to intervene and stop the flames threatening to consume them. If she didn't stop him the conflagration was going all the way this time.

He pulled back panting and rested his forehead on hers. "Oh, Sara," he whispered hoarsely. "What you do to me." He stroked her cheek with one finger, then trailed that finger over to trace the outline of her swollen lips. Moments later he leaned down to begin slowly following that same path with the tip of his tongue. Luscious, he thought as he sucked her full lower lip into his mouth.

Her low moan affected him like gasoline influenced a bonfire. He slipped one hand under the hem of her shirt and ran it delicately across her stomach. When she offered no resistance he moved his explorations higher. She wasn't wearing a bra, and her breathing quickened as his fingers stroked over the silken curve of her breast.

They ended up in her bed, their clothes piled together in an untidy heap on the floor. Tender exploration turned to fevered need, for the ancient chemistry driving them was volatile. They clung together in the aftermath, satiated and boneless, their bodies still locked together. Greg smiled into her hair. She had been with him for the entire journey; even as he'd plunged over the precipice she'd been with him, crying out his name as she fell. Now they rested together in the warm ashes of the inferno and let sleep take them into the night together. Morning would be soon enough to examine what had happened.


	8. Chapter 8

Soap Opera Ch 8

Last chapter, more of an epilogue than anything. Not mine; no money made.

Sara awoke to the smell of coffee the next morning. I don't program my coffeemaker, she thought fuzzily, then the memories of the night before flooded over her. With a smile she pulled on a T-shirt and some shorts and headed for the kitchen.

Greg sat at her dining room table clad only in his shorts. He smiled brightly at her and gestured to the coffeepot. "Morning, sleepy. I made coffee; hope you don't mind."

She smiled. "Not at all." She sat down and sighed. "So."

His eyes clouded. "Morning regrets, Sara?"

"No! It's just awkward, you know, after. It was wonderful, though." Her face warmed into a smile. "Amazing, really."

"I thought so too." He looked at his coffee. "It's, um, never been like that for me. I just thought you should know. I would very much like this, us I mean, to be an ongoing thing." He looked up, gauging her reaction. "By that I mean, you know, us in a relationship, not just the sex part. What do you think?"

Sara smiled. "I think I'd like that a lot. I wasn't sure if it was just a one-time thing for you, or if you wanted us to keep seeing each other. "

"Definitely the second option." He smirked. "I'd like to wear you out on a regular basis."

"You would?" She looked him over. "You know, I don't have a problem with that."

"Good, 'cause I was thinking I might want to start on that really soon. Like right now."

"Now?"

"Now. Put your coffee down, Sara. Yeah. That's good. Now where's your bedroom again?..."


End file.
